Broken Fox: Shades of Sorrow
by Half-blooded Slayer
Summary: Challenge by Triforce Guardian. What happens when even the strongest of minds cracks? What happens when this causes a spiral of out of control leaps in power and control? What happens when everything is a mask for the sorrows inside the soul? Rated M for attempted suicide and graphic scenes later.


The sounds of birds calling to one another are all that permeated the air. If one didn't know what was going on all that would be detectable would be the natural beauty of the waterfall just a few hundred yards away and the bird song lazily drifting through the early morning air. However if one were to look closely, they would see the smoldering remains of several fires and a copious amount of smoke that didn't seem entirely natural. Suddenly the peaceful silence was broken by the sound of metal slicing into something fleshy followed by an inarticulate scream of rage filled pain.

A smallish boy stood hunched over, his once bright, eye burning, orange jumpsuit in tatters. His flesh was marred by soot and blood, his breathing ragged. His normally expressive blue eyes were hardened with more than just his indomitable will; it was tempered with a deep rage and a deeper sorrow. The blonde's eyes kept flickering to a muddled amethyst as he stared across the river at another small boy, this one clad in beige and blue, his once black eyes a blood like crimson with three black markings surrounding his pupils. His eyes being the famed Sharingan of the Uchiha clan, the bloodline limit of one of the oldest and strongest clans in Konoha.

The black haired boy watched impassively, his own breathing labored as his eyes darted back and forth, the only evidence that he saw the enraged blonde as a threat. He was for the first time, actively trying to push his Sharingan to its limits just to keep himself ahead of the blonde's erratic movements. He just didn't get it, how did the dobe, the absolute worst in his graduating class, confuse his clan's bloodline? How could this clan less loser keep up and even occasionally trick the Sharingan. He was broken out of his thoughts as the blonde once again surprised him.

Instead of attacking, Naruto started laughing. But this wasn't his usual snickering of a joke, or his throaty laugh of someone falling to his prankster skills, no, there was a slightly darker edge to it. It started quietly, more of a half sob before escalating into the laughing sobs of someone finally pushed past their limits. The boy's whiskered visage was twisted into a self deprecating sneer that oddly enough looked too natural on his face. The Uchiha took an involuntary step backwards as the young Uzumaki threw his head back, his shoulders quaking with his mad, cackling laughter.

Without warning, the blonde blurred. One second he was twenty feet away, the next the Uchiha was sent flying with a sickening crunch, the shockwave from the blow making the water around the two explode outwards from the epicenter. The blonde held a wild look in his eyes, as if he wasn't quite able to restrain himself from some self destructive thoughts.

"Do you even know what it's like Sasuke? To never have anyone? Your family was taken from you, but you were never truly alone. You had the adulation, the love of the villagers. They bent over backwards to give you everything, but you pushed them aside." The Uzumaki wasn't idle through his speech; he kept up with the Uchiha, each question emphasized with another bone shattering hit that kept the young shinobi from regaining his balance. The final statement was accompanied with an axe kick that dropped the Sharingan wielder into the river, his breath forcibly exhaled from the hit.

Sasuke diverted a part of his remaining chakra to his back, forcing himself to shoot out of the river and into the sky, his chakra already shifting back through his coils as he flashed through his most used seals, drawing in a huge gulp of air. Releasing the pent up chakra and air, he spewed a fireball with practiced ease, which quickly expanded to a roughly 40 foot diameter as it rocketed towards the blonde. Looking up dispassionately, Naruto _screamed,_ his chakra reacting instinctively to his need, his will. Subconsciously the blonde molded the chakra into a rough spherical shape, resembling a rougher version of the Renkuudan that the Ichibi had used during the invasion.

Though rough in its shape and execution, the ball of wind was supercharged with the blonde's very potent chakra, and minutely laced with the dreaded Kyuubi's overwhelmingly vile chakra, thus over powering the compressed sphere. The two elements slammed into each other, wrestling for control for a brief moment before the sky exploded, the resulting explosion sending both boys flying in opposite directions. Naruto slammed into the cliff wall with enough pressure to sink into the solid rock face almost a full five feet, his hands barely twitching as he tried to draw in some breath.

The youngest Uchiha was similarly thrown into the solid cliff face, his own crater nearly a foot deeper due to the fact that he had been airborne at the moment of the explosion. The blonde was the first out of his crater, wisps of malevolent red chakra wafting off of his battered body. His eyes were no longer blue, but a crystal clear amethyst, glowering in the direction of the youngest Uchiha. He spoke harshly, his voice a guttural growl, "Get the fuck up you arrogant prick. I chased you because of a stupid promise, but now I'm taking you back because I just know the villagers would crucify me if I didn't. So get your ass up so I can beat you down and drag it back."

The Uchiha slowly stood, his the markings in his eyes spinning rapidly as he tried to anticipate the blonde's next movement. He still couldn't understand how the Uzumaki was not only keeping up with him but was surpassing his Bloodline. He grit his teeth as his hands flashed through three seals, the array surrounding his Cursed Seal of Heaven vanishing into nothing, the flame like markings spreading over his pale skin. He bit back a scream as the vile chakra of the Hebi no Sannin flooded his body, pouring off of him in a torrential wave of force.

Naruto's eyes narrowed as he simply bent forward, the Kyuubi's chakra bubbling out of his flesh, curling around him before shrouding him completely, protecting him from the air pressure being thrown around. He dashed forwards on all fours, his speed increased dramatically as the Kyuubi's chakra literally sliced the air just in front of him, lowering his resistance. The Uchiha's face rocked to the side as Naruto buried his fist into his cheek.

Surprisingly Sasuke held his ground before another pulse of the vile chakra ripped outwards, knocking the jinchuriki away. As Naruto regained his footing he stared agape at the only person who could understand his pain. Gone was Sasuke's pale skin, replaced with a dark, blackish-gray color, his once crimson eyes now gold with four diamonds surrounding the pupils. The sclera was pitch black and made him seem more demonic than even the Kyuubi sealed within his gut. His dark hair was now a purplish-blue and flowed to his mid back, swaying from the slight wind still moving around the two fighters.

Sprouting from his back were two monstrous wings, looking as if they had been grown from spare hands and they crackled with barely withheld power. Naruto's eyebrow furled as he took in the changes, knowing that even in his current state he wouldn't be capable of taking him on. So instead he pulled from deep inside of himself, his rage and pain easily drawing forth more and more chakra. The red shroud rippled and not one but two tails grew from it, near the curve of his tail bone, the faux appendages swaying in the slight breeze.

For a long moment neither combatant moved then with a slight rush of wind both vanished from view. Just as suddenly they reappeared, holding each other's right hands in their left ones, the shockwave exploding outwards, the only thing keeping them from falling being their immense levels of chakra. Over and over they parted to slam back into one another. Shockwave after shockwave blasted the cliff walls, in some cases obliterating the stone. In other places they simply left deep holes. Suddenly they stilled, both boys panting, the fatigue showing on even Naruto's face.

Neither knew how much longer they could keep a fight of this level up as they had never used such power. Sasuke knew that if he failed he would be dragged back and probably bound since he did in fact betray the village. Naruto however knew that no matter if he brought the Uchiha back or not that he would be further ostracized; either for failing or for succeeding but harming the "last" Uchiha in the process.

Unbidden, unspoken both began drawing on their chakra, the mystical energy spiraling through their bodies to their silent instructions. In Sasuke's left palm the distinct crackle of lightning forming could be heard, only instead of the normal bluish-white energy it was now blackened and silvered, the stark colors splashing across his face and left half of his body.

Across from him, a small typhoon of wind and chakra was forming in Naruto's hand, the keening of a high pitched whir emanating from the solid looking orb of chakra. Subconsciously the young Uzumaki was drawing on his elemental alignment, supercharging the Rasengan with wind and the Kyuubi's chakra, making it pulse every few seconds with a shining purplish light. They kept staring at each other before they leapt once again. Bringing their chakra and element laden hands up they allowed the collected energies to slam into one another.

The next few seconds were spent with both boys deadlocked, neither seeming to gain a foothold until something clicked deep in the back of Naruto's mind. He knew that the Rasengan could create gale force winds when it was unleashed and in his experimentation with it he knew that it could act as a vacuum if he opened a part of the shell but kept the chakra inside rotating at a high speed away from the opening. He knew that it wasn't prudent to test any radical theories in the middle of a fight but he was just desperate and crazy enough that he didn't truly care.

Gritting his slightly changed teeth, the feral container of the Kyuubi forced his chakra to obey and for a split second nothing seemed to happen before the Rasengan expanded, the wind sucking the lightning into its vortex and swirled it away into near nothingness before the excess chakra of both attacks broke from the blonde's control. The explosion absorbed both warriors, battering their bodies further even as the nebulous of chaotic chakra expanded, destroying the statues of Konoha's founders behind them, the swirling energy finally dissipating to reveal Naruto hunched over Sasuke's unmoving form.

This was the scene that the infamous Sharingan no Kakashi found his students in. He could still feel the Kyuubi's chakra in the air but surprisingly there was no real malice to it. It almost seemed sorrowful as the last few wisps of it flowed from the various cuts in Naruto's flesh, trying to heal the body that had been so badly damaged. Silently Kakashi approached his own sensei's legacy, his lone eye watching the blonde for any sudden movements. He remained tense even as he let out a small sound to let the boy know he was there.

Without turning the blonde addressed the older shinobi, "Ne, Kakashi-sensei, I stopped Sasuke. But I don't think I can move him back to village on my own. Could you help me?" Kakashi regarded his student for a second before he eye-smiled.

"Maa, maa Naruto, you did a good job." Having expected the boy to jump and shout for joy at the praise, he was shocked when instead Naruto turned and slowly started moving towards the embankment and the trees back to Konoha, leaving the Jounin to pick up his other student. He kept his eye locked on Naruto as the jumped through the trees, wondering what exactly had happened before he had shown up.

After he had felt that spike of chakra, he deactivated his weight seals and shunshined almost directly into the river, only to see that the fight was over. He knew that this fight would have long reaching and long last repercussions but he hoped that the blonde could weather the storm a little longer. Finally seeing the gates coming into view he couldn't help but notice that Naruto was slowing down, his breathing slightly erratic.

Just as he was about to say something to him, the boy took off like a jet, rushing towards the other gennin and one chuunin that had been on the retrieval mission. Just before he reached them a kunai lanced out, halting the boy in his tracks, though the Jounin doubted that anyone else saw it. Both the boy and man looked in the direction it had flown from to see the Hokage's advisors standing there with matching angry expressions. The blonde winced just before Koharu started ranting at him.

"How dare you! How dare you harm the last loyal Uchiha! Your mission was to capture and detain, not to attack. A proper shinobi, hell a proper human would have followed their orders instead of endangering the promising shinobi of their generation. You will be stripped of your rank and you will be imprisoned for this _boy_!" Naruto didn't flinch; he didn't even seem to react for a long moment.

Naruto stared at the old teammate of Hiruzen before he bent down and grasped the kunai that she had thrown. He stood and looked her in the eye, his face as blank as freshly blocked marble. "I apologize Koharu-sama. I tried to detain him but was unable to do so without conflict. I do see your point however. I am a threat to the village since I willingly used the Kyuubi's power so I'll put an end to that threat." As soon as he finished speaking he brought his hand up and buried the kunai in his chest, the tip just barely nicking his heart.

The blonde fell to his knees, his torso shuddering, the blood already flowing past the cool steel, drenching what was left of his tattered jumpsuit. Time seemed to freeze as the retrieval team and the few people that had gathered stared in near horror. They hadn't thought that He would do that. No one moved. No one breathed they were so focused on the sight before them.

Kakashi was the first to react, he dropped Sasuke and blurred to Naruto's side, his hand already flickering green with what little medical chakra he knew to try to stabilize his student. In his haste he had somehow pushed his headband up, the bloodied crimson of his implanted eye flickering over the blonde's form noting every subtle shift.

However just before he could reach the blonde, a torrent of red chakra formed a construct just in front of the boy. The chakra was surprisingly solid and caught Naruto before he could fall any further than his knees. Slowly the chakra construct became defined, showing a woman in her mid twenties with a regal look to her features, the most notable thing being that a leash of chakra ran from a black collar around her throat to the now visible seal on Naruto's stomach.

Ignoring the people and shinobi present the mysterious construct wrapped dainty, elegant fingers around the handle of the kunai and gently eased it out, a flood of the red chakra seeping past it and into the hole he had made, slowly encasing it in a bubble of pressure to keep him from dying. The apparent woman's self appointed task complete, she turned her crimson eyes towards the gathered crowd, the near tender look that had been on her face vanishing as she stared them down.

She slowly stood the loose gravel near her rattling as the air pressure seemed to increase. As her gaze swept over Koharu, the air seemed to freeze over for a second. She spoke quietly, her voice cold but still sounding softer than the finest silks, "You humans disgust me. This child has borne no ill will to this village or it populace, and yet he is the one vilified for living. I was the one who attacked your village because of human treachery and I was the one who was sealed into the child when he was but a babe. He knew nothing of this burden until a few short months ago when nearly every adult saw him for not who he was, but as if he was me incarnate. And now, when he returns one of the accursed Uchiha that you all love and desire he is vilified once again for subduing a stronger, bloodline gifted opponent. Do not think for a moment that this boy is a threat because he tamed the nearly suffocating rage of my chakra in order to help this village. You all will be held accountable and I will see that he is protected."

She turned slowly, looking at Kakashi with slight disdain. "You there, the scarecrow. Your student has far exceeded what most chuunin and even some Jounin would be capable of and has been injured. Can you heal him or collect someone who could?" Kakashi gulped and thoughts for a moment before slowly performing the hand signs for his own special Kuchiyose no jutsu.

With a small puff of smoke Pakkun appeared, only he seemed larger and tougher looking. After a hurried and whispered conversation the Ninken rushed off into the village proper. He returned shortly with Tsunade herself, who looked ready to tear the village apart. The self Proclaimed Kyuubi smirked before she stepped aside allowing Tsunade to kneel at Naruto's side.

The legendary medic's hands started glowing a brighter green that Kakashi's had earlier and she pressed them against Naruto's chest lightly pumping against his ribcage, her soothing chakra seeping in and mixing with the potent, dormant chakra of the Kyuubi to help him heal quicker. Tears started forming in her eyes before a weak cough made her openly sob and hug the still unconscious blonde to her chest in relief.


End file.
